--------------------------------The thing I found interesting was that there was no statement from the police saying "We do not encourage people to stand up to would-be thieves" or words to that effect.

I'm not sure if this is a change in attitudes - both people standing up to those that threaten them and there being no "it's never worth it" statement issued - or whether it's a one off. I'm hoping it's the start of "people are allowed to defend themselves" trend!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

It's not wonder we (gun owners) are always under attack from both the right and the left. Rather than having open minds, people seem to ONLY want to advance their personal agendas, rather than taking a big picture look at what is happening, or actually admitting there may be another point of view.....1911 vs. plastic semi-auto vs. revolver- Honestly, who frikkin cares???...Open carriers vs. concealed carriers- Same thing...

Thursday, February 10, 2011

No, I'm not giving you the link* … I'm rambling on the idea … but, yes, it is a real competition being advertised.

What would a life makeover look like?

According to the prize, a life makeover involves:• $5,000 from Commonwealth Financial Planning• Return flights to Sydney for you and a friend, with $250 spending money for each of you.• Two nights' accommodation at The Observatory Hotel, Sydney. • Four private sessions with the body+soul experts for you and your friend• 30 minute private spa therapy session • Three course dinner with matching wine at The Observatory Hotel • Plus, a free financial advice session with Commonwealth Financial Planning when you return home to your state.

Mmm, sounds like a nice prize. But is it a "life makeover"? I guess the $5k and the session with the financial planner might contribute to made-over life. But the rest, sounds more like "time out" than a real change. Not sure about the four private sessions, I guess they could be a bit like the financial planning thing.

I guess for a real "life makeover" one of those magic wands would be needed as most of our lives are the calumniation of a number of different decisions made over a long period of time. Changing some of these isn't easy, others may not be desirable for a variety of reasons and their effects on others. And, to be honest, not everything is in our control. Sure how we react to things we can control, but the "I want to wake up tomorrow and for everything to be perfect" option isn't often achievable no matter how much time and effort we put into it.

To enter the competition you need to "simply tell us in 25 words or less why do you need a life makeover?".

Don't worry, I'm working on the 25 words or less bit. A weekend in Sydney would be very, very nice – not that my life would currently let me have the time off :( Wonder if there's a time limit on when you can take the prize.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

A shop in the US state of Alabama has launched a Valentine's Day offer it hopes will trigger a large response in a limp economy: customers can swap their guns for sex toys.

"In today's economy, this is a way of helping people who may feel they can't afford something for Valentine's Day,'' said Sherri Williams, the owner of the "Pleasures" sex toy shop, where assorted erotica during the next week can be obtained in exchange for cast-off firearms.

"This way, they can take something that's just lying around and swap it for something they can take home and make love, not war with," she told AFP.

A video posted on its website said the shop, housed in an old bank building in Huntsville, "is trading guns off the street for fun between the sheets."

As soon as Pleasures opened its doors on Tuesday, a customer came in and exchanged an Iver Johnson revolver for a $40 gift certificate to be spent in the shop, which stocks everything from steamy videos to naughty negligees.

The gun was inspected by licensed gun dealer and gunsmith David Smith, who happens to be Williams' husband.

Guns can be exchanged at Pleasures from Tuesday until February 15, the day after Valentine's Day.

Firearms found to have been stolen or used in a crime will be handed over to the police, while others will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to victims of gun violence, said Williams, who said she is not looking to make money out of the deal.

"I'm in it to help people enjoy Valentine's Day in a tough economy," she said.

"I'm also in it to get guns off the street - to take them out of the hands of people who would potentially do harm with them, and put them in the hands of collectors."

Williams conceded that the guns could be resold at auction, in which case they might end up back on the streets, but said the effort still is worthwhile.

"We might just change one person's mind," she said.

"You never know, maybe there will be someone who says, 'I've got this gun that I could go rob a liquor store with, or maybe I can get me a blow-up doll for Valentine's Day, instead."

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Apparently 71 homes were lost to the fire in my area and many more damaged.

No one lost their lives, for which we can be very grateful. The work done by the fire brigade and volunteers was amazing!

The fire is not yet out - but it is contained and controlled. Most people have been let back into where their houses are / were, but not every one - some areas are still too dangerous.

Living near the fire you hear stories of friends / acquaintances / relatives of friends at every turn.

There's the good news stories - 8 out of 9 houses in one street were destroyed, the one left standing belongs to a family with children in my girls' classes; mother and aunt of a work mate still have their respective houses although one hasn't got in to see it yet.

And the sad stories - 17 families at the school (probably only 250 families in the school in total) have lost their homes; there's a notice up at the local shops about a young mum, she's okay, but her and her 5month old bub have lost everything. Friends have provided a place to stay, but she needs clothes, and baby stuff and everything else.

And then there's the impact that you don't initially think of - access to the area has been impacted by a bridge being burnt down, so now the journey to my girls' school is longer and on a road that isn't designed for the amount of traffic it is now taking. So they've reduced the speed from 70kph to 40kph - so now the trip takes even longer. Girl Guides was cancelled on Monday night - the hall is behind the fire station and access is now blocked off so not to interfere with emergency vehicles. These are, of course, minor things but it does bring back to you how intertwined things are.

Most of the people have insurance, so that will help (eventually) with the rebuilding of their homes, but there are so many things that insurance can't replace.

You do what you can, give what you can but you really feel it's not enough.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

I was woken this morning around 1.26am by the sound of a massive gust of wind. There were a couple more over the next couple of hours, so it was with a bit of trepidation that I looked out the door around 9am.

Luckily, there appeared to be no damage to either my place nor those of my neighbours. However, later in the day I saw this (four blocks from my house):

In other news, we heard about a fire north of us (Redhill area) - we decide to take a drive up there to watch the helitankers.

On the way back we were listening to a news report that said a fire had broken out in our suburb.

We were expecting visitors so we headed back to our place and down the main access road into our suburb. Quite close to our place we found the road blocked by four ambulances, two fire engines and a variety of police vehicles. We then turned round and headed home where we rang our visitors and provided alternative access information.

The fire was only about 6kms from our house but it was heading north north east away from us - which was good for us, but not so good for other people. Apparently, at this point, it is believed that 35 houses have been lost :( There are no reports of loss of life, hope it stays that way.

The fire is still burning out of control and the wind is gusting up to 60kph, so my thoughts and prayers are with those people in its path and the firefighters and volunteers fighting it.